Beethoven Sheet Music Discovered in Connecticut Home, Sold for $100,000

"I’ve been in a lot of homes and seen hundreds of things, but this will be one of the most memorable moments of my career,” appraiser Brendan Ryan told Connecticut's Greenwich Time over the weekend. "This" was the discovery of a 215-year-old original piece of Ludwig van Beethoven's sheet music, discovered in the home of a woman looking to unload some of her stuff.

And how much did it go for, this legendary document? $100,000. Might seem like a lot to you, might seem like a confusingly trifling sum.

The paper describes what was actually found as, "More than just a musical composition, the sheet was ferociously dotted with German words, directions and symbols that practically flew off the page with manic intensity."

Ryan said "a complete sheet is rare, and so heavily and densely worked on is even more rare." Manhattanville College professor Carmelo Comberiati admired the piece. “We can see the fire as it happened. He just went wild with a crescendo of activity,” he said. “There’s so much impatience there—I can’t imagine working for the guy. But that aspect of his character is wonderful.”

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